The use of geophone sensors to sense seismic events has been common since at least 1930. Typically, individual geophone sensors will be placed along an interconnecting signal cable for transmitting the signals generated by the sensors to form a geophone sensor string. Each sensor is usually provided with a device to secure the sensor in the ground, such as a spike.
Geophone sensor strings of the prior art must be positioned and retrieved by time-consuming and laborious manual steps. A geophone sensor string is typically stored on a hanger device from which the individual sensors are hung by additional manual labor. They may also be coiled or placed in bags or boxes for storage. A large and steadily growing part of the total cost of seismographic exploration is for the labor to put in place and retrieve the sensors and interconnecting cable.